The Mets considered sending Matt Harvey down to help the slumping ace regain form, but he talked his way into remaining with the big league club and will make his next start, according to Newsday’s Marc Carig. “We dissected every angle there was,” said manager Terry Collins. “In the end, knowing this guy like we do, he wants to pitch. He wants to fight through it. He isn’t going to run and hide. He wants to get out there. So we’re going to do that.” Interestingly, in addition to mulling a minors trip for Harvey, the Mets pondered removing everything from his locker and setting those belongings on fire – which then-Mets reliever Bobby Parnell did last season when he was struggling. It’s unknown if Harvey actually did it, per Carig, who adds that the Mets believe his problems stem from a lack of confidence. After logging 427 innings of 2.53 ERA pitching to accompany a 4.78 K/BB from 2012-15, the 27-year-old Harvey has regressed significantly in both categories in 2016 (5.77 and 2.87, respectively).

More from the National League:

On the heels of a less-than-stellar Saturday showing – five innings, five hits, four earned runs and three walks – Mark Simon of ESPN.com wonders if the Mets should also be concerned about starter Jacob deGrom. After bursting on the scene with back-to-back dominant campaigns, deGrom has been merely good in 2016. He entered Saturday with the majors’ 16th-worst hard-hit rate, which is in stark contrast to his eighth-best mark from last season, as Simon writes. Moreover, deGrom’s K/9 has dipped from 9.00-plus in each of the previous two years to 6.59 this season. The soon-to-be 28-year-old has also lost a couple miles per hour of velocity compared to last season, per PITCHf/x.

The three-year, $31MM extension the Pirates gave catcher Francisco Cervelli this week could be a major win for the club, opines Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. With pitch-framing value included, NEIFI Analytics projects Cervelli’s open market worth from 2017-19 at $57MM – nearly twice as much as he’s going to make with the Pirates – as Sawchik points out. Thus, Sawchik questions Cervelli’s decision to sign the extension, but he concedes that the backstop perhaps values playing in Pittsburgh over maximizing his worth.

The Pirates’ shallower outfield alignment is getting excellent results, Sawchik and Chris Adamski detail. The Pirates’ outfielders lined up deeper last season and stopped enemy runners from advancing an extra base on singles 52.6 percent of the time. That number is up to 59 percent this season. Center fielder Andrew McCutchen has experienced the biggest improvement, going from 42.4 percent to 55.7 percent (via BucsDugout.com), since moving in an average of 17 feet from last season to this year (316 to 299). Further, after the Pirates turned 45.7 percent of the balls hit to the outfield into outs last year, they’ve increased the rate to 53.1 percent in 2016. Pittsburgh elected to move its outfield in this season because of its pitching staff, said manager Clint Hurdle. “No. 1, we have a staff that predominately uses two-seam fastballs. So in an actuality, a high percentage of balls are getting to the outfield on the ground. Fly balls that are hit (off two-seam fastballs) are not hit as high or deep as four-seam fastballs. It also accentuates outfield arms. It increases throwing accuracy, the ability to stop runners.”

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale isn’t pleased with the potential changes to the strike zone and the intentional walk, he told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. In regards to raising the strike zone, Hale said, “To me, the lower the zone, it’s always been better. I guess they’re trying to increase offense now. For me, I’d just leave the game alone. I think it’s good.” Hale also blasted the current replay process, saying, “I don’t know how the games are going to get any quicker as long as we keep checking every play on replay. And we have to slow the game down that way. It’s almost to the point of being embarrassing. It’s like, ‘He looks like he’s out to me, but let me check.’’

The Phillies have been lucky to get solid work from a cheap bullpen this season, Matt Gelb of Philly.com writes. Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon are now gone, but journeyman Jeanmar Gomez has been effective in the closer’s role, and Hector Neris and David Hernandez have also been terrific. The team could also soon receive reinforcements, with Michael Mariot and Mario Hollands perhaps joining the bullpen after returning from injury. Another possibility, Gelb suggests, might be Edubray Ramos, a 23-year-old who now has a 1.54 ERA, 24 strikeouts and just one walk in 23 1/3 innings split between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. Here’s more from the National League.

Jorge De La Rosa will return to the Rockies’ rotation on Tuesday against the Red Sox, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets. Jon Gray will pitch Wednesday and Eddie Butler on Thursday. De La Rosa struggled this season before missing almost a month due to a groin strain, but if he can approach something resembling his 2015 form (when he posted a 4.17 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9), he’ll provide a boost to a Rockies pitching staff that has already recently added help in its bullpen.

Matt Harvey has struggled to the tune of a 5.77 ERA this season (albeit with a reasonable 8.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9). But his agent, Scott Boras, says Harvey’s tough year is the result of the typical ups and downs experienced by pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. He compares Harvey (who had TJ surgery in 2013) to Stephen Strasburg, who underwent the procedure in 2010 and has had bumps in the road (including some struggles at the beginning of last season) since then but recently signed a $175MM extension. “This Tommy John dynamic carries with it unknowns,” says Boras. “It’s amazing that Harv and Stras pitched against one another (Thursday night). You go back a year ago and who’s who? I’m sitting on the phone (then) talking about Strasburg’s career and no one is saying anything to me about Matt Harvey’s brilliance and dominance. Now the roles are reversed.” Boras suggests that former Tommy John patients experience trouble locating pitches.

Matt Harvey’s dreadful outing tonight has left the Mets uncertain as to whether he’ll be on the hill for his next scheduled start, which also comes against the division-rival Nationals. Skipper Terry Collins said after the game that he hadn’t yet decided whether to give the ball to Harvey in D.C., as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to report (Twitterlinks). “We will take a hard look at what the next move is going to be,” said Collins. Harvey’s earned run average has ballooned to an ugly 5.77 over his first 48 1/3 frames on the year. It does seem fair to note that the peripherals suggest Harvey has suffered from some bad luck, with ERA estimators crediting him with a sub-4.00 effort entering the day, though his effort this evening will hurt those figures and he’s lost just over a tick on his average fastball. Meanwhile, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post draws the inevitable comparisons between Harvey and Nats ace Stephen Strasburg, who had a strong showing to pick up the win.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth agreed last fall to a new payout structure for his contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Under the agreement, Werth has deferred $10MM of his salary this year until 2018, at a 5% interest rate. That continues a pattern of postponed paydays in Washington’s player contracts, which is in some part a reflection of the team’s efforts to deal with an ongoing television-rights dispute with the Orioles and the Baltimore-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed that TV battle today, as Svrluga reports. As things stand, the parties are appealing a lower court’s refusal to enforce a determination by the league’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee, putting a hold on the Nationals’ efforts to recoup additional rights fees for past years and increase their future take. Manfred had harsh words for the Orioles’ actions in the matter. “It is important to bear in mind the fundamentals,” he said. “The fundamentals are that the Orioles agreed that the RSDC would set the rights fees for MASN and the Orioles every five years. The Orioles have engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to avoid that agreement being effectuated.” MASN issued a counter-statement saying that Manfred was ignoring “the fundamentals of the case” — namely, the court’s findings of a conflict of interest (based on the law firm that represented the Nationals) — and stating that the RSDC had failed to use an appropriate method for setting the rights fees. If you’re interested in the gory details, you can find a recap of the trial court decision here.

The departure of David Ortiz and reemergence of Hanley Ramirez leaves the Red Sox with both opportunity and uncertainty at first base. Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com suggests that youngster Sam Travis could keep the team from needing to add a major bat via free agency. The 2014 second-rounder has risen quickly, and is currently putting up a solid .281/.338/.438 batting line over his first 160 plate appearances at the Triple-A level at 22 years of age. Pawtucket hitting coach Rich Gedman credits Travis with being aggressive without seeking to hit the ball out of the park, suggesting that he’s a polished and well-rounded hitter.

Entering the day in last place in the AL East, the Yankees need to seriously consider prioritizing future improvements over their 2016 prospects, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues (Insider link). Olney ticks through a variety of ways — including allocation of playing time and weighing trades — that New York can and should shift its focus to 2017, suggesting a sort of realistic re-tooling rather than any kind of full rebuilding project.

Deposed Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM that he’s looking forward to other opportunities now that he’s lost his post in Atlanta. (Twitter link.) But he said that he isn’t necessarily looking for another job running a dugout. “I am looking forward to doing something in the game and it doesn’t have to be managing,” said Gonzalez.

The Mets haven’t approached Matt Harvey about a long-term extension, agent Scott Boras tells The Record’s Matt Ehalt. “I always leave it up to the teams to approach us about those things like Washington did with (Stephen Strasburg). We just keep our doors open and evaluate things as it comes,” Boras said. Offseason chatter indicated that there weren’t any talks between the two sides, though since Strasburg’s extension rather surprisingly came out of nowhere, it wouldn’t be as stunning to see a Harvey contract negotiated privately. Harvey, of course, still has two more arbitration-eligible years before hitting the open market after the 2018 seasons, whereas Strasburg was scheduled for free agency this coming winter. An extension is likely less important to the Mets than simply getting Harvey on track — the righty has a 4.93 ERA through his first eight starts, though his peripherals indicate that he been somewhat unlucky (.373 BABIP, 3.35 FIP, 3.75 xFIP, 3.95 SIERA).

In the latest Baseball America mock draft, Hudson Belinsky projects the Phillies will take Florida southpaw A.J. Puk with the first overall pick. Pat Gillick and other Phils executives, however, have been seen scouting high school outfielders Mickey Moniak and Blake Rutherford, and sources tell Belinsky that the Phillies could draft a slightly lower-regarded player in order to save slot money on the first overall pick. Philadelphia has a draft bonus pool of just over $13.405MM (the second-highest amount of any club) and it could be the latest team to strategically deploy their draft spending by spending less on a top pick in order to spend more on a harder-to-sign talent in a later round. Ultimately, however, Belinsky feels the Phillies still go with “the safer option” in Puk given “the importance of this pick in the club’s rebuilding effort.”

While the Braves are disappointed by their poor 2016 record, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that the club has played a tough schedule. Big picture-wise, the Braves are still in good shape, as O’Brien observes that many of the big names Atlanta has dealt (such as Justin Upton, Shelby Miller or Jason Heyward) are currently struggling, while the Braves received several building-block prospects to aid in their rebuild.

In a piece that’s certainly worth a full read, James Wagner and Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post detailed how right-hander Stephen Strasburg’s mega-extension with the Nationals came to fruition. It helped the Nats’ cause that owner Ted Lerner has both an affinity for Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras. “They have an incredible relationship,” said Ted Lerner’s son, Mark Lerner, regarding his father’s closeness with Boras. “Scott really respects my dad and what he’s built over the years from nothing.” Prior to inking Strasburg to a seven-year, $175MM deal, Lerner was using the free agent contracts awarded during the offseason to Jordan Zimmermann (five years, $110MM) and Johnny Cueto (six years, $130MM) as comparables. Boras countered with the bigger deals given in recent years to Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and the Nats’ Max Scherzer, and sold Lerner on Strasburg’s similarly elite potential. Ultimately, the two settled on an accord resembling the ones inked by Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez in past years. Strasburg gave Boras the thumbs up on the seven-year agreement in late April – two weeks and two starts before it was announced – and it was kept under wraps as language was drawn up and Strasburg underwent an in-depth medical exam. Strasburg found out the deal was done when a fan congratulated him after his start Monday. “The light bulb went off,” he said.

Here’s more from around baseball:

Blue Jays first baseman/designated hitter Chris Colabello and Phillies reliever Daniel Stumpf both received 80-game suspensions in April after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and the two remain confused as to how PEDs entered their respective systems, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Colabello’s agent, Brian Charles, organized a conference call earlier this week with doctors, scientists and molecular biologists, all of whom are experts on steroid testing, as he tries to get to the bottom of his client’s positive test. Colabello, Stumpf and ex-UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir also partook in the call. All three tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Turinabol, and each is without an answer as to how. The players association finds the cases of Colabello and Stumpf “puzzling,” sources tell Rosenthal. “The part that scares me the most is that I don’t know what to change for this not to happen again,” stated Stumpf, who said he only takes fish oil and doctor-prescribed medication. “It’s killing me,” added Colabello. “Everything I do in my life is thought out with careful attention and detail. I don’t do irresponsible things because I never want to make a mistake that could cost me my career.”

Speaking of confusion, Mets right-hander Matt Harvey is perplexed by his early season struggles, per David Waldstein of the New York Times. “There’s a lot of unknowns,” he said. Harvey insists he’s physically fine and doesn’t believe his problems are related to his release point, with which he and pitching coach Dan Warthen have been tinkering. After allowing five runs on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings Friday in Colorado, Harvey saw his ERA rise to 4.93 – more than two runs worse than his career mark of 2.76. His strikeout and walk rates have also trended downward this year, as has his velocity. It’s worth noting, though, that after striking out a meager 14 batters and walking eight during his first four starts (22 1/3 innings), Harvey has fanned 27 against just five free passes in the four outings since (23 1/3 frames).

Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com have published their latest mock draft, which is free to all. Within it, the MLB.com duo projects Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis (who was recently interviewed by MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom) to go first overall to the Phillies. Florida lefty A.J. Puk, who has been projected to go 1-1 by some draft gurus, goes to the Reds at No. 2 in Callis and Mayo’s latest attempt to peg the first round, and they have prep lefty Jason Groome (an oft-speculated 1-1 candidate himself) going to the Braves to round out the top three.

Mets star righty Matt Harvey’s early season issues continued in a 7-5 loss to the Indians on Saturday. Harvey allowed three-plus runs for the third straight start, which is the first time that has happened in the fourth-year man’s career. In total, Harvey surrendered five earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, adding four strikeouts against three walks. So far this season, Harvey has put up an ugly 5.71 ERA to go along with a 4.67 K/9 and 3.63 BB/9. Those numbers look nothing like his tremendous career totals (2.59 ERA, 9.31 K/9, 2.01 BB/9), but Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen doesn’t expect Harvey’s struggles to last. Warthen expressed belief after the game Saturday that Harvey has a mechanical problem that’s easily fixable, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). Warthen elaborated, saying that Harvey is hurting his consistency by collapsing his back leg in the stretch (Twitter link via Marc Carig of Newsday). Harvey was outstanding from the windup Saturday, allowing just one hit in 14 at-bats. On the other hand, Indians hitters teed off on him when he was in the stretch, going 5 for 8 with two doubles, three walks and a pair of steals, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter). Harvey’s next scheduled start is against the lowly Braves on Friday. Both facing Atlanta and making the right adjustments in the meantime could put Harvey in position to revisit his dominant form for the first time this year.

Here’s more from the National League:

Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano is back to full strength after the team scratched him from his Wednesday start with a tight right hamstring, Adam Berry of MLB.com relays. Liriano, who threw a bullpen session Saturday, expects to start Tuesday in San Diego. “Everything feels normal,” Liriano said. “Ready to go on Tuesday. Everything went well today.” That’s welcome news for the Pirates, whose starting rotation isn’t particularly imposing on paper aside from Gerrit Cole and Liriano. In 11 innings this year, Liriano has posted a stellar 2.45 ERA, but his 7.36 BB/9 is unsightly and nearly twice his career number of 3.83.

After the Cubs activated him from the 15-day disabled list Friday, utilityman Javier Baez made his 2016 debut Saturday and went 2 for 4 with a double while giving veteran Ben Zobrist a breather at second base. Going forward, the Cubs hope to start Baez two or three times per week at various positions as they try to develop the 23-year-old, manager Joe Maddon said (via Cody Stavenhagen of MLB.com). “He’s got a high-maintenance swing and he’s young, so he needs to continue to get at-bats,” stated Maddon. “That’s the difficult part about all of this … to nurture him along right now along with a team that has a chance to do something really special this year.” After a poor 52-game showing at the plate with the Cubs in 2014 (.169/.227/.324), the former top-tier prospect improved last season to the tune of a respectable .289/.325/.408 line in 28 contests.

Imminent changes could be coming to the Phillies’ outfield, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “You can’t get around it. It’s not good,” manager Pete Mackanin said in regards to the league-worst .299 OPS Phillies left fielders have compiled and the .454 OPS their right fielders have posted. “In the short term, if we don’t show improvement, we’ll probably make a change,” Mackanin added. The Phillies did make a change Saturday when they put first baseman Darin Ruf in left, but the club doesn’t see him as a solution because of defensive concerns. That could open the door for at least one of Will Venable or David Lough, both of whom are in Triple-A. Venable has a May 1 opt-out in his contract if he isn’t on the Phillies’ big league roster by then. While the Phillies are considering calling up those two, prospect Nick Williams needs more time to develop and is not a candidate for a promotion, according to Mackanin.

The Red Sox intend to use Brock Holt as their primary option in left field against left-handed pitching, Ian Browne of MLB.com tweets. That means that high-priced Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo will be battling with Chris Young for playing time against righties. While both could certainly be in the lineup at the same time, manager John Farrell suggested that he sees both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as more or less everyday options, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. That certainly could leave few options for Castillo, who is looking to make good on the big contract he signed as a free agent out of Cuba.

Here’s a look at more notable roster moves to come from the East divisions:

It’s “a given” that Juan Lagares and Yoenis Cespedes will both be in the Mets’ lineup against left-handed pitching, ESPNNewYork.com’s tweets. It’s not yet clear whether Michael Conforto or Curtis Granderson will see the lion’s share of time in right field when a southpaw is on the mound, he adds, but the scenario figures to cut into their time. As for Alejandro De Aza, it’s unclear when and how he’ll get action, though a late-spring trade still seems possible.

Meanwhile, the Mets appear not to have any cause for concern with righty Matt Harvey, who is dealing with blood clots in his bladder but is expected to open the season on the active roster, according to WFAN’s Ed Coleman (h/t to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, via Twitter). Alarm bells were rung after the team announced an undisclosed medical issue for the star hurler, but it seems he’s still in line to take the ball on April 3rd.

Erasmo Ramirez will start out in the pen for the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitterlinks). He’ll presumably move back into the rotation when the need for a fifth starter arises, but Tampa Bay is set to use four starters for most of the first five weeks of the year.

Matt Harvey will miss the rest of Spring Training and his status for his Opening Day start is up in the air due to what Mets GM Sandy Alderson described as “a non-baseball medical issue that we have to address.” Alderson and manager Terry Collins told reporters that (including ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin) Harvey informed the Mets about the problem after some type of symptom developed this morning, and the right-hander will undergo further tests.

A source familiar with Harvey’s condition tells Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitterlinks) that the problem “isn’t major” in the sense that it would cause Harvey to miss a lot of time, which is obviously good news on both a personal and professional level for the ace righty.

The Mets were naturally guarded with details out of respect for Harvey’s privacy and possibly due to the fact that his ailment isn’t quite confirmed. “I think it’s a little early to attach any level of concern. We need to wait for more medical information before we decide if it’s of concern or grave concern or no concern,” Alderson said.

Collins and Alderson both stressed that the ailment was non-orthopedic in nature, so not related to Harvey’s shoulder or elbow. Obviously, this was the first thought of many in regards to a Harvey-related injury given how he already missed all of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Harvey returned from that procedure in fine form, posting a 2.71 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 5.08 K/BB rate over 189 1/3 innings in the regular season and then a 3.04 ERA over 26 2/3 innings in the postseason as the Mets advanced to the World Series.

While the Mets have made clear they don’t have any ongoing extension talks with their starters, and there isn’t a ton of pressure given their extended existing control, Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests that it may be worth at least exploring some chatter with Matt Harvey. Both the prized righty and his agent, Scott Boras, have suggested they’d be willing to engage in dialogue. Harvey, 26, is earning $4.33MM in his first of three seasons of arbitration eligibility. Sherman suggests that buying the remaining two arb years at about $29MM and adding three free agent seasons at $30MM a pop might be a fair valuation. While that seems to be a pretty fair suggestion for an outstanding 3+ starter, even in spite of his recent Tommy John surgery, from my perspective it’s somewhat difficult to imagine Harvey and Boras jumping at $119MM over five years. Such a deal would take Harvey though his age-32 season, meaning he’d hit the market at about the same stage as James Shields did last winter. It’s also far from clear that New York would be interested in such a scenario, of course, and Sherman makes very clear that any such concept is something of a longshot.

Here’s more from the NL East:

Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, who is currently on track to hit the market with Harvey and a host of other premium players, is working on decreasing his reliance on his big fastball, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. The hope is that Fernandez will not only be able to improve — a scary proposition for opponents — but will reduce the load on his recently-repaired elbow. “We want to see him continue to pitch and continue to develop his weapons, where he’s not having to have the mentality that I’ve got to strike everybody out,” explained new manager Don Mattingly. “There’s nothing wrong with having guy hit a ground ball early in the count. … We think pitching that way keeps him healthy for a long time. It’s good for him. It’s good for us. It’s good for everybody.”

Interestingly, the recent Tommy John research of MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum showed that the volume of what he classifies as “hard pitches” can have significant predictive power of future UCL replacements. Fernandez is the biggest name to land among the ten pitchers with the highest statistical TJ risk this year, per Woodrum’s research, which certainly suggests that thoughtful handling is warranted.

Presumed Phillies closer David Hernandez is dealing with some “issues” with his right elbow, manager Pete Mackanin told reporters including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The skipper himself didn’t seem entirely sure of what difficulties Hernandez was having. Meanwhile, the righty says he isn’t injured and is simply trying not to overburden himself having missed a lot of camp time in recent springs, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki tweets.

James Wagner of the Washington Post has an interesting feature on Nationals lefty Felipe Rivero, who came over as one of two minor leaguers to accompany Jose Lobatonin the deal that sent Nate Karns to the Rays. The fireballing southpaw has focused on strengthening his arm, and hopes that touching 100 mph last year will become a more common occurrence. While he says he “was thinking too much before” in a starter’s role, Rivero now feels settled in as a pen man. “Last season,” he said, “I’d imagine that, even if I was facing Barry Bonds, I’d get him out. Or when I threw against the league’s best batters, I didn’t think about the Mets or whoever. It’s me versus you. If I strike you out, I strike you out. If you make contact, you make contact. That’s it.” Wagner notes that Rivero could factor into the team’s future closer considerations, and the 24-year-old says he’d welcome such an opportunity.

Spring training is also extension season, and Steve Adams and I previewed things on a recent edition of the MLBTR Podcast. Several players have inked arb-only deals, and there have been a pair of interesting contracts for injury-risk relievers, but thus far only Dee Gordon (Marlins) and Brandon Crawford(Giants) have landed truly significant contracts this winter. There are already rumblings about some big names who could dabble with long-term negotiations, many of whom pose significant questions to their organizations.

Here are a few links to the latest extension chatter:

It does not appear that the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg have any intentions of making a real effort at a new contract, as Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports. Agent Scott Boras had high praise for the Washington organization and its handling of the prized righty, but his comments suggest that a pre-season deal would come as a major surprise. “We amicably agreed to a one-year deal (for 2016),” Boras said. “He’s going to pitch, and we’ll see where it goes from there. It’s something we’ll be discussing at the end of the year.” None of that comes as much of a surprise, of course, as Strasburg has a chance at a huge contract if he can put up a healthy and productive campaign.

There may be slightly more daylight for an extension in the case of another NL East, Boras-repped ace — Matt Harvey of the Mets — according to a report from ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin. Unlike Strasburg, Harvey can be controlled for two more seasons after 2016, so there’s quite a bit more ground to cover before he hits the open market. Harvey said he hasn’t heard any talk of negotiations, but indicated he would be willing at least to consider a long-term arrangement. Boras, meanwhile, provided a trademark analogy to explain his stance: “Expectations of an extension are like dinner invitations. They are always politely considered until you know the restaurant.”

The Blue Jays have yet to open talks with slugger Edwin Encarnacion, his agent Paul Kinzler tells Morosi. That’s not surprising with camp still on the horizon, but the new Toronto front office has made clear it intends to make an effort to reach agreement with Encarnacion (and fellow star Jose Bautista). Kinzer indicated that he believes there’s plenty of time to work something out, with Encarnacion very open to the idea of foregoing free agency for the chance to cement his legacy with the balllub.

Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz says that he doesn’t think the time is right to discuss a new deal, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. “I still think I have some stuff to prove before we even get into [extension discussions],” Buchholz told Mastrodonato. Boston probably feels similarly, particularly given that the roller-coaster righty is already controllable for 2017 (his age-32 season) by way of a $13.5MM club option.